Hobbits and Fraggles
by Pip4
Summary: While in a Mathom Room one day, Peregrin Took encounters a strange creature. Crossover with Fraggle Rock. Companion piece to Fraggles in the Shire. Reviews greatly appreciated.
1. The Cave in the Wall

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything nor am I making money from it._

_This is just an idea that came to me one day. There isn't an overall plot to the chapters in the story. It's just going to be a collection of little bits I'll write from time to time. The only thing chronological about it will be the introduction of the characters to each other. If anyone has any scenarios they'd like to see run let me know and I may consider them. This story has a companion called __**Fraggles in the Shire**__. Basically that one is just what's happening on the other side of the wall._

_Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it._

"Peregrin Took, get back here!"

The young hobbit dash through the Great Smials as fast as his feet could carry him. Who would have known boredom could be so dangerous. A few hours ago he had been exploring the stream nearby, minding his own business, when he had come across the fattest, slimiest frog he had ever seen. It was too good an opportunity to pass up. Crouching low he wasted no time in scooping up the amphibian, dashing back to the Smial and depositing the frog in his sister Pearl's wardrobe. The only problem was that he hadn't counted on passing his sister's room at the exact moment she discovered the "gift" and thus did not have much of a head start when she charged from her room, intent on retribution.

Now he was running for his life.

"Pearl's getting faster," he spared a moment to think to himself. "And she's gaining!"

The last thought was met with an extra burst of speed and the decision that it would be a good idea to find a hiding place soon. Focusing his course so that he was not just running around with no particular goal, he steered himself toward one of the old mathom rooms. There would be plenty of furniture and boxes with which he could keep out of sight. He rounded the corner and fled into the room before his sister could spot where he was heading. Hopefully, he thought, that might buy him some time.

Upon entry, the little hafling searched for a quick hiding spot but there was no where to hide that would not require time or the loud moving of heavy items. Looking around desperately his eyes alighted on a small hole in the wall. It was just big enough for him to crawl into comfortably; however, Pearl wouldn't be able to fit into it.

He dropped to all fours quick as a flash and scuttled into his refuge and went in as far as he could…

…or at least he tried to.

All Pippin was expecting was that maybe the hole would be big enough for him to fit in it. Perhaps it would back up to the side of the hill where it would obviously stop, perhaps there would be a gap that spanned the width of the room which would provide the most movement possible but that would be all.

But this particular hole seemed oddly cave-like. It kept going at a slight downward slant, further into the hill and further into the ground. The light that streamed in from the hole he'd crawled into illuminated intricate rock formations and stalactites.

Ever the curious one, Pippin scooted in a little bit more to look around. "I wonder if this is a Dwarf cave," he pondered to himself, recollecting on stories told by his cousins Frodo, and Bilbo. Excited by the prospect of a new adventure he crawled in further still, eyeing the rocks and imagining what new discoveries could be found down there.

However he was not at all prepared when he peeked around a curve in the wall and came face to face with an odd looking creature. It had greenish-yellow skin, a big bulbous nose, a tuft of fuzzy hair atop its head, and a tail. Needless to say Pippin was quite startled and he yelped in surprise.

And he wasn't the only one. Upon seeing him, the odd little creature's large eyes got even larger and he yelped at the same time as Pippin. Both yelps led to a series of larger yelps as each occupant of the cave became more terrified at the site of the other.

"Ahh!"

"Ahhhh"

"Gahhh!"

"Arrrrggg!"

With a final yell that finally snapped him out of the frozen state he was in, Pippin backed up frantically, taking no more notice of the creature or the fact that it had turned tail and run also. The only thing on his mind was to get out of the cave has fast as he possibly could. He wriggled free, lost his balance backing out and fell backwards out of the cave with a grunt. He scrambled to his feet and hightailed it out the door.

He almost yelled again when he ran right into the waiting arms of another problem, his sister. In his excitement and terror he had completely forgotten about the reason he had run into the room in the first place. He had indeed, nearly lost his sister by disappearing into the old room but his panicked scream had alerted her to his presence.

"There you are you little-"

"Pearl, there's something in the Mathom room!" Pippin shrieked.

Pearl sighed.

"Of course there is Peregrin. It's intended for storage, there's always something in there. Now come on." She grabbed his wrist and began to pull, only Pippin pulled back.

"No! There's something in the wall. Some little creature with a big nose and a tail!"

Pearl rolled her eyes. Pippin often tried to find excuses to get out of trouble or something divert attention from the prank he just pulled, but this was a new one.

"Nice try brother. But you and I both know that there is nothing in that room aside from old keepsakes. Now let's go. That frog ruined my best party dress."

With the discussion over she dragged her protesting brother down the hall toward their family quarters.

Later that night Pippin lay awake in bed, thinking. His frog prank had earned him a week in his room, aside from the times he would be fixing the hole in the wall in the storage room. He had thought he reached a victory when he managed to finally convince his father to come look at the hole. However, when they got there, his father took one look at the hole and promptly delivered a long reprimand to his son about destroying the property of others.

"Well son, if you can take it apart you can put it back together," was how it had ended, so Pippin now had to go back to that room and board it up.

Board up the hole in the wall.

Board up the hole in the wall that contained the odd little creature.

"What was that thing anyway?" he wondered. Initially he had been frightened of it and didn't know that he'd be able to go into that room, his father's orders or not. But as time went by his better sense took over. He realized that it hadn't pursued him from the hole or attacked him. And when he and his father had gone into the room it hadn't attacked then either. Not to mention that it wasn't currently charging through the smial reeking havoc. So he probably didn't need to fear it while repairing the wall. Besides, it probably was long gone anyway.

But as the fear faded it was replaced with an intense curiosity. That creature was like nothing he had ever seen, read about or heard about. Not even cousin Bilbo had described something quite like what he saw. It lived in a cave so his first thought was that it was a dwarf.

"But dwarves are bigger than that, and they wear armor and have beards. That certainly did not have a beard." He said aloud to himself.

So, it lived in a cave, it had no beard, no armor, it was half his size and it had a big nose and a tail.

"Dwarves do have big noses," he puzzled, "and the only dwarves I've seen are rather old. Maybe it's a baby dwarf. Maybe it will grow a beard and get taller later."

_And the tail?_ His mind supplied.

Pippin furrowed his brow, a weak thought that maybe the tail fell off when they got older also came to him.

"That is ridiculous," he mumbled to himself. "Maybe it's a fairy."

But it didn't strike him as a fairy. He was pretty sure fairies didn't look like that. Granted he didn't know what fairies looked like, but still.

Sighing, he rolled over and closed his eyes. He was too tired to think about it anymore. Maybe the next day would bring some answers.

Pippin woke feeling more excited to go begin work on the hole than he felt he should have been. He was anxious to explore the cave before he boarded it up. His disposition had also changed to one of not wanting anyone to know what he was up to instead of hoping someone would believe him about the strange little thing he had come across.

He spent the next half hour or so gathering supplies for the job; lumber, tools, nails, the usual. He also ducked quickly into the kitchen and with a quick deft of hand swiped a biscuit and a roll. He was allowed a break during luncheon but he figured he'd get hungry sooner than that. Plus he needed…well…not bait so much as…a bribe.

The young hobbit slipped into the room and made sure the door was shut behind him. As a precaution he pushed a heavy chair in front of the door. At least that way he would not be taken by surprise if someone came in.

His ruse complete Pippin scrambled over to the wall and knelt in front of the hole. Not wishing to be taken by surprise again he stuck only his head in and looked around. He saw nothing.

_What, you were just expecting it to be wandering around by the entrance?_

"Maybe," he muttered to himself, a little chagrined that he thought it would be that easy.

Next, he closed his eyes and tried to hone is hearing onto anything. All he was met with was silence.

Silence

Silence

Footsteps

His eyes shot open and he listened again.

Yes, that was definitely footsteps. Not hobbit footsteps from the hallway, but, a small pitter-pattering from inside the cave. It was so soft he feared to miss it if he didn't keep concentrating on it.

"Hello?" he called out softly.

The pitter-pat stopped.

"No no no no," he thought, "No I can't loose the sound." He tensely waited with is breath held.

A few moments later the footsteps started again and Pippin was hard pressed to breathe softly, lest he miss the sound again, or scare the creature away.

As the footsteps grew slightly louder, Pippin grew bolder.

"Hello?" this time more confidence. "Hello, is anybody there?"

A few moments later and a small, familiar head peaked around the corner.

"H-h-he-ll-llo?" It stuttered

Pippin gasped in surprise, he wasn't expecting it to speak to him. The creature gasped back and quick as a flash disappeared behind the corner.

"Wait!" Pippin squeaked at its retreat. "Come back, I'm not going to hurt you."

A small hand reappeared and gripped the wall as the little thing peered around the corner again. Pippin could see it trembling a bit. But he also saw something in its eyes. A familiar glint of inquisitiveness that was what all too often got Pippin himself into trouble on occasion.

Moving slowly, and speaking softly, Pippin reached into his pocket and pulled out the roll and biscuit he had pilfered earlier.

"Hello," he spoke congenially as if trying to coax a lamb from a bush. "It's okay, I won't hurt you." He tore the biscuit in half and held part of it out enticingly.

"Here," he offered, "are you hungry?"

Just as he'd hoped, the offering of food was enough to coax the little thing from its hiding place. It approached cautiously so Pippin set the food on the ground in order to give it some distance.

"Um, th-thank you," it said in a clear high-pitched almost nasally voice.

"You're welcome," he said with a stunned smile, still in shock that he was having a conversation with this odd individual.

The little creature took a small bite of the biscuit and then finding it to its liking, made quick work of the rest. Pippin laughed slightly and bit into his own half of it.

The two sat in silence for a short moment, simply surveying each other while they ate. Finally Pippin could stand it no longer.

"Are you a fairy?" he asked suddenly. The creature shot its head up to look him straight in the eyes, startled by the sudden outburst.

"Pardon?" he asked.

Pippin kept going on.

"Or a baby dwarf? I mean you live in a cave and have a big nose but you're smaller than me and you don't have a beard so you certainly don't look like any dwarf I've ever seen. But then again I'm pretty sure you're not a fairy as there's nothing really well, fairy like about you but-"

"W-wait wait!" interrupted the cave-dweller. "Fairy? Dwarf? What are you talking about?"

Pippin realized he had been rambling and settled his words when he realized it was talking to him. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"If you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you?"

"Oh," the creature stood a little straighter "I'm a Fraggle."

Pippin's eyebrows raised a little at the "Fraggle's" words.

"A fraggle?" he asked. He'd never heard of a fraggle before. Well, this certainly explained the odd appearance and why he couldn't figure out what it was.

The fraggle nodded excitedly.

"Mmm-hmm. Wembley Fraggle is my name." It then kept going on in an almost relieved tone.

"Oh wow. This is wonderful. If you don't know what fraggles are then you weren't looking for fraggle rock while you were in the tunnels."

Pippin almost laughed at the thought that the "fraggle" thought he was looking for its home. It must have been just as frightened as he was.

"No, I was just hiding from my sister," was his response.

He then leaned forward interestedly.

"What's Fraggle Rock?" he asked. "Is that where you live?"

Pippin realized that he had asked the wrong question when the fraggle's smile faded, his eyes widened in horror and he brought his hands to his mouth as if he had just uttered the most important secret of his life. Pippin soon found out this guess wasn't too far off as Wembley began to stutter.

"Oh no. No no no no no! You weren't supposed to hear that. No, Fraggle Rock's nothing, forget I said anything about it it's nothing it wouldn't interest you please don't destroy it or-"

Pippin quickly tried to stop the desperate onslaught.

"Wait wait wait. No I don't want to destroy anything I was just curious," he assured. "And I won't tell anyone else about you or it if you don't want me to."

As he spoke he noticed Wembley begin to calm down. Finally, Wembley had stopped panicking but still looked a little fearful.

"You won't? Really?"

Pippin's face grew serious as he realized how important this was to his new friend.

"You have my word."

Wembley visually relaxed with a loud breath of relief.

"Oh, thank you so much. It's just…well, we Fraggles don't really go too far from Fraggle Rock. The only one who ever did was my friend Gobo's Uncle Traveling Matt. Gobo gets postcards from him sometimes and has to get past a silly creature to get them and it's very dangerous. I don't know what we'd do if he ever got caught or if the silly creature ever saw him."

Pippin listened with interest. He completely understood Wembley's dilemma and nodded.

"We hobbits are like that too," he said. We don't usually venture into the outside world." He thought about how it would be if people from the outside world ever came to the Shire. The hobbits wouldn't fare too well if Big People decided to come in. "Don't worry;" he assured Wembley, "I can keep your secret."

"Thank you again," replied Wembley then went on to ask. "Hobbits?" "Is that what you are? I was wondering about that. You look like the silly creature in the first room that Gobo has to go into. But it's too big to fit into these tunnels and it wears things on its feet."

Pippin nodded.

"Yes, we're called hobbits, though from what my cousin Frodo has told me, the Big People call us haflings." Then, from his sitting position he bowed shallowly to Wembley as best he could and introduced himself.

"Peregrin Took, at your service and your family's," he said, then added, "But you can call me Pippin."

Wembley's eyes were wide when Pippin raised his head.

"Oh wow," he pronounced breathily. "Thank you very much Pippin."

"Likewise Wembley," Pippin responded. "And, I guess you could call us silly creatures as we are at many times. We're smaller than everyone else though; at least that's what I've heard from Frodo and Bilbo. So I imagine you and your friend have seen a big person."

Wembley nodded in understanding.

"And this is the Shire," Pippin added as an afterthought, remember Wembley's comment about a place called outer space. "Well, not this this," he gestured around the room. "This is a storage room in the Great Smials. And that's in Tuckborough, which is part of the Shire, which is part of Middle Earth."

If it was even possible, Wembley's eyes got much bigger.

"Wow, Outer Space is bigger than I thought it was."

Pippin nodded with a chuckle.

"Yes, the world seemed much smaller until I started listening to Cousin Bilbo's stories. He's really the only hobbit that's ever gone beyond the Shire. He came back with all sorts of exciting stories."

"Your cousin Bilbo sounds an awful lot like Gobo's Uncle Traveling Matt," commented Wembley. "I bet he would love this. I bet Gobo would love this."

Pippin drew closer to Wembley excitedly.

"Well, if Matt is anything like Bilbo, I bet Gobo is something like Frodo. I-"

Pippin suddenly cut off, and whipped his head to the door as a sudden pounding came from it.

"Pippin, Peregrin Took, open this door," his father's voice rang out and Pippin winced as he looked over at the door, seeing it shake against the chair he'd put up.

"Just a minute," he called before turning back to Wembley, who had shrunk back into the wall.

"I'm sorry Wembley, I have to board this hole up."

"Oh," sighed Wembley, "Does this mean I won't see you again? I-I wanted to introduce Gobo to you."

Pippin thought for a moment. He was willing to keep Fraggle Rock a secret but he so wanted to know more about it. And the thought of meeting another Fraggle was too good. He smiled at a sudden conclusion.

"I'll leave it loose, then, we could meet again. And with the hole covered there's no risk that someone will find out about Fraggle rock."

"That would be fantastic Pippin," asserted the fraggle

The banging became louder and more forceful.

"Peregrin, now!" the order was very clear.

"I'm coming," Pippin stalled a few seconds longer. He saw Wembley look down the tunnel then back at him as if hesitant to leave. He knew he wouldn't be able to stall much longer.

"You'd better go. I'll see you…well… I'm sure we'll get a chance to meet again soon."

"But we will, right?" asked Wembley

"Right," was the firm response.

Without any further words, both knew that the time for stalling was ending fast. Pippin got up and headed for the door and Wembley took off down the tunnel.

Pippin quickly moved the chair, allowing his father admittance into the room. The result was instantaneous.

"What in the Shire have you been doing in here Pippin and why was the door block?"

"Working da'" Pippin replied, "and I blocked the door so that I wouldn't be bothered."

It wasn't really a lie, he was getting ready to work and he didn't want to be disturbed.

Paladin looked around the room and other than the untouched pile of wood by the wall, nothing seemed amiss.

"Well," he declared, "The sooner you get that wall fixed the sooner you can get out of here so get on it."

"Yes sir," Pippin answered obediently.

His father left and Pippin went back over to the wall.

"Wembley?" he called experimentally. "When he received no answer he assumed that his new friend had gone back to Fraggle Rock and could no longer hear him.

Sighing, Pippin turned to the pile of wood and began his work, planning a quick way to open it again and hoping that his first meeting with a new friend wasn't his last.

_Please review but I'd appreciate no flames_


	2. A Meeting of Explorers

_**I don't own any of this and it's not for profit.**_

**AN Sorry about the wait everyone. Life got in the way and I didn't realize how long it had been since I'd last gotten a chapter. Hope you like this one. **

**One quick note, for all you Merry fans, yes he will be showing up in the next chapter. But I need some help. I am completely stuck with how to get Sam involved. I can't think of any reason why he would be in a mathom room in the Great Smials and I don't want to move into the characters asking to go back on their word o intorduce new characters just yet (I'm thinking of something like that for other members of the fellowship). So if anyone has any suggestions I'm open to what you might have to say. If I use it I will definatly giv eyou credit.**

**Thanks and enjoy**

Pippin was up to something. Frodo wasn't sure what it was, who it involved or how many messes there would be to clean up by the time it was over. But he was sure of one thing; his young cousin was up to something. No one else was suspicious; Pippin was good enough to hide it from most hobbits, Merry excluded. But Frodo had known him too long to not notice the signs; nervous fidgeting at breakfast, quick cautions flicks of his eye now and then, and a slightly faster walk than usual.

So, when Pippin slipped down a back hallway, Frodo was ready. He loved his cousin but he really wasn't in the mood for whatever prank was being concocted in that curly head and was determined to head it off if he could.

After a while of following though, Frodo was starting to get confused. Pippin wasn't heading to any bedrooms, the kitchen, the patio, or really any place where a group of hobbits might gather. Before he could even begin to imagine what his cousin had up his sleeve, Pippin took a turn down a hallway, one that Frodo knew only contained one room, a mathom room.

Frodo slowed his pace a little, uncertainty slowing him along with the sense that perhaps the situation wasn't as dire as he was expecting. He reached the door and waited a moment, not wanting to barge in on something he didn't understand. Pippin's voice could clearly be heard on the other side of the door.

"Wembley," he said with a quite happy voice. "It's so nice to see you again. Were you finally able to convince your friends that you aren't crazy?"

Frodo's eyes widened as his cousin was answered.

"No," came a muted response. It was odd, the voice wasn't nearly the same volume as Pippin's although it wasn't whispering and should be in the same area. And who was Wembley? He listened more to see what else he could glean from the conversation.

"Even though it's been weeks and I've been coming here a few times I haven't told them. I don't think they'd believe me even now. They'd probably say I was sick and put me to bed again."

"Oh, that's too bad; I keep hoping to meet them." Pippin answered.

Frodo wasn't sure what he was hearing, but he was pretty sure he'd heard enough. Frodo had quite a few cousins, many more than he would be able to keep track of. But Wembley didn't sound like a hobbit name. Plus, even if it wasn't someone he knew, the way word spread he should have heard something about a sick hobbit or a crazy hobbit at some point. Without another thought he twisted the knob and opened the door.

"Pippin? What are you doing in here?" he exclaimed.

Pippin, who was kneeling by the wall had suddenly stood up, followed by a clunking noise and stood uncertainly in front of the wall. Upon further examination, Frodo could see a wooden plank patching a hole in the wall. It appeared as if Pippin was trying to cover it up or hide it.

"Frodo!" Pippin exclaimed, quite startled. "What a pleasure to see you. . . here. . .in this room. . . right now."

Frodo could tell that Pippin was clearly trying to hide something. So, he got straight to the point.

"Pippin, who else is in here with you?"

Pippin's face visibly paled.

"Really cousin," he answered in a skittish voice, "Wh-Why would you think someone's in here?"

"Because I heard you talking to someone. What do you expect me to think?"

Frodo was starting to get a little worried. When Pippin knew he had been caught it was usually relatively easy to get him to fess up. His cousin seemed extremely compelled to keep whoever was there hidden.

Pippin for his part was floundering. He glanced quickly over to the door, dismayed to realize that in his eagerness to see Wembley, he had forgotten to move the chair in front of the door. At any rate, it would have given him a few seconds to prepare for an intruder.

"Frodo, it's. . . complicated," he eventually said hesitantly. He was kept from saying any more though by another voice. One that was higher and one that Pippin had been hoping not to hear, at least not yet.

"It's Frodo!" came an excited shout from behind the wall. Pippin thought he had heard another voice soon after but it was covered by the *THUNK* the wood partition made as it fell back into place as Wembley shot out from his hiding spot.

"Pippin it's alright!" He yelled as he scrambled out of the hole.

Frodo hadn't actually heard the first words. But he quickly jumped back with a yelp as a creature, only a little smaller than a hobbit suddenly ran from behind the board in the wall. Belatedly, Frodo realized that the board was what had made the thunking noise when he had first entered the room.

Pippin quickly tried to keep the situation from getting more out of hand than it was.

"Frodo!" the hobbit said loudly, "Frodo it's okay. This is…this is who I was…talking to…just now."

Frodo, for his part, calmed down relatively quickly. He wasn't what one would call a panicky hobbit. So, after his initial startled shriek, he realized that the creature wasn't making any dangerous movements.

"Pippin," he said slowly, "What is that?"

Pippin knew that there was no hiding it anymore. He'd have to tell Frodo something. He looked over at Wembley who nodded at him.

"It's okay Pippin," the fraggle said. "The way you talk about Frodo I trust him."

Pippin nodded and took a breath. This was going to be quite a story to explain.

"Frodo, this is Wembley Fraggle," he started with a motion at the little green figure. "He's a…well…a Fraggle…"

Frodo's eyebrows quirked curiously.

"A Fraggle?" he asked slowly. Not so much cautiously as intrigued.

Pippin recognized the tone and nodded in relief, noting Wembley doing the same out of the corner of his eyes. He smiled slightly as Frodo moved a little closer and sat down.

"I've never heard of a fraggle before." He commented.

Wembley nodded in response to him.

"Well, we have something in common then," he said lightly. "Until a few weeks ago I'd never heard of a hobbit before either."

Frodo grinned a little bit at the answer, both for its simple nature and the fact that Wembley had answered him. He had been so focused on what Pippin was doing that he hadn't actually been expecting to be answered.

"That makes perfect sense then I guess," he responded. He then stood and bowed to Wembley courteously.

"In that case, Wembley Fraggle, I am Frodo Baggins, at your service and your family's."

When he looked back up at the fraggle, Wembley was looking at him with a bit of an awed look. Before Frodo could inquire as to why, Wembley explained it himself.

"Gosh, Pippin bowed to me when we first met too. Do you really like me that much?"

Frodo looked over as his young cousin suddenly erupted into bouts of laughter. He himself smirked and tried to stifle a little bit of a giggle. Hobbits were so accustomed to bowing in greeting that Wembley's comment had caught him a little off guard.

He finally looked over at Wembley and saw that the fraggle had a slightly insulted look on his face.

"What?" he asked, his tone suggesting that he was a little hurt.

Frodo, realizing that they needed to explain before they hurt Wembley anymore quickly put in, "We hobbits often bow in greeting,"

"Though that's not to say we don't like you," Pippin quickly interjected.

"No, no, of course not." Frodo said, finally having calmed down a little. He was glad to see Wembley's face brighten at their explanation. The fraggle's next response was as amusing as it was heartwarming.

"Alright then," he replied. Pippin smiled as the fraggle furrowed his brow a little bit then slowly moved his hands in a bowing gesture.

"In that case," he continued. "Wembley Fraggle, at your service and your family's too."

Frodo stopped chuckling but the elated smile stayed on his face.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Master Fraggle."

AS Wembley dropped his arms he suddenly started, as if remembering something.

"Oh, wait one second I want you to meet someone," he said quickly.

Without another word he dashed back into the hole. Frodo turned to Pippin to ask what that was all about but before he could his answer was given from behind the wall.

"Guys guys guys!" Wembley's muffled though no less excited voice rang through the boards. "C'mon, you gotta come meet my friends."

There was definitely a bit of a commotion coming from the other side. Frodo could hear Wembley's happy "C'mon c'mon!" intermixed with two other protesting voices.

Eventually, Wembley returned, pushing and pulling two more fraggles. One had orange skin and bright purple hair. The other that followed (and tried his best to stay behind the first Frodo noted) had a bluish-greenish skin and red hair that hung over his eyes, along with an old, obviously loved cap.

_How in the world can he tell where he's going? _Frodo thought to himself. Anymore musings were quickly forgotten thanks to introductions.

"Pippin, Frodo," Wembley began. "I'd like you to meet my friends, Gobo (the orange one) and Boober (the one with the cap over his eyes) Fraggle."

Pippin was more than a little amused when Wembley turned around to face is friends and realized that they didn't quite share his happiness at the situation. Boober looked flat out ready to run. Gobo, well, he didn't look excited, but he had that look of guarded curiosity. As if he wanted to know more, but wondered if pursing it was a good idea.

"Uh Gobo, Boober" Wembley began, obviously realizing his need to explain, "This is Pippin Took and Frodo Baggins. They're hobbits. And Pippin is the one that I saw in the tunnels that one day. See, see I wasn't crazy or sick or anything. Isn't that great?"

Pippin was sure he could hear a cricket somewhere in the room in the silence that followed. He really did want to say something, but didn't want to startle the newcomers too much. It turned out that he didn't have to. Frodo broke the silence first.

"Um, hello," his cousin greeted.

Before anything else could be said Boober, broken out of his stupor by the words, fainted. Pippin and Frodo instinctively jerked forward slightly but stopped upon seeing that Wembley was quick to lend his assistance.

That left Gobo. He had turned behind him at the movement that Boober's fainting had caused. But upon seeing that Wembley had taken care of it (Boober was already getting over the shock) turned back to study the hobbits. Frodo pulled Pippin to sit down beside him to try and keep them from looking as intimidating.

Finally, Gobo found it within him to speak.

"Uh, h-hi," he muttered a little nervously as Wembley pulled Boober back into the group. Now that the initial contact had happened Frodo figured it would be okay to continue.

"Terribly sorry about that," he said contritely. "Are you alright?" he asked.

The fraggle in front of him nodded with a stutter but didn't say anything else. The attention moved back to Gobo when he said something, more to himself than anything.

"So, there really was something down here."

Pippin nodded in unison with Wembley.

"I know isn't it great Gobo," Wembley added enthusiastically. Pippin could tell from the young fraggle's demeanor that he was thrilled to finally be able to prove he was right.

"Well yea, sorta," Gobo agreed, finally looking up at Wembley. "It's just…just…Wow, I wonder if this is how Uncle Matt felt when he first started interacting with silly creatures," he finished.

Frodo frowned.

"Silly creatures?" he asked, wondering if he'd heard right?

"That's what they call us," Pippin piped up from next to him. "It's like how we refer to Big People."

Frodo nodded, that made enough sense. But still…

"You have an Uncle who's met Sill- uh, hobbits before?" he asked thoughtfully. "Funny, I don't remember anyone mentioning fraggles before."

Frodo thought that perhaps if anyone had seen a fraggle they may have kept it a secret, like Pippin. But the way Gobo spoke about it, it almost sounded like his Uncle Matt wasn't trying too hard to stay hidden.

"Well, I dunno if he's ever met a hobbit before," Gobo said in way of explanation. "I mean, the only other silly creature I've ever seen was really tall. Unless hobbits get taller than the two of you are now."

Frodo thought for a moment then shook his head.

"No, not much taller," he clarified. "What you've referred to sounds like a man or an elf," he reasoned.

Unexpectedly, a different voice chimed in.

"A man OR an elf?" Boober inquired. "Good grief, how many kinds of silly creatures are there?"

Pippin and Frodo exchanged glances, a little worried about how to answer the question in the right way.

"Well," began Frodo counting off his fingers. "There are hobbits, men, elves, dwarves, and I suppose you could count wizards if you're basing things by appearance. And there might be others that we don't know about yet."

Pippin jumped as Boober grunted at the word "wizard" then muttered the word under his breath.

"What" Frodo asked, picking up the sense of derisiveness.

Gobo was quick to explain.

"It's just, we have a wizard in Fraggle Rock," he paused. "Actually I guess we _had _one. He would come to the Great Hall from time to time and do magic shows. But that was before he decided to sell banana tree shirts."

Pippin's eyebrows quirked in curiosity. A wizard with a banana tree shirt. He wasn't sure what a banana tree looked like but the whole mental image seemed a little out of place, if not slightly amusing.

"And good riddance I say," Boober added emphatically. Pippin wondered what this wizard had done to make Boober dislike him so, the wizard seemed harmless enough.

_Or maybe Boober's just naturally grumpy_, he thought.

"After that whole business with the poison cackler and switching places with Wembley," Boober finished.

_That would do it_ Pippin thought, though a different question was already on his tongue.

"He switched places with you?" Pippin wondered, leaning forward excitedly. How much fun would it be to switch places with a wizard?

"What's a poison cackler?" Frodo asked nearly simultaneously, thoughts of wily beasts coming to his mind.

"Well, yea," Wembley began. "He and I looked similar and with the fake beard he wore, you'd never know it wasn't me. But it felt nice to be noticed at the time." Pippin noticed the bit of longing in Wembley's eyes at the comment before the fraggle continued on with is narrative. "Oh a poison cackler is this huge fearsome creature with big teeth and lots of legs."

_So it is a wily beast_ Frodo thought, thinking back to the spiders in Cousin Bilbo's tales. Wembley kept going.

"Apparently it was after him because it wanted his smoke pellets. So since we switched places it came after me instead."

"It didn't hurt you did it?" Pippin queried fearful of what could happen to someone should they run afoul of this cackler.

"Oh no," Wembley assured him and Pippin's shoulders dropped in relief. "No we threw the pellets down the cave and it ran off after them."

"Nothing but trouble in the end," Boober said, wrapping up the story nicely.

The storytelling done for now, Frodo leaned back and nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, that's what they often say about Gandalf," he said quietly.

"Gandalf?" Wembley asked.

"Yes, he's a friend of ours," Frodo added. "He's a wizard too. But I'm afraid he's a little different than the wizard you know. He's," Frodo pondered this a moment, "He's kind and wise and…well you'd have to meet him to quite understand him. But he has gained a bit of a dubious reputation around here."

Frodo laughed softly to himself, remembering stories and circumstances.

"He showed up years ago and convinced my Uncle Bilbo to go off on an incredible adventure with him. Oh sure Bilbo met some extraordinary people and did some wonderful things. But many hobbits just think of Gandalf as being a disturber of the peace."

"He sure sounds like it," Boober agreed, drawing a laugh from Pippin.

"Perhaps," Frodo continued. "But if you ever met him I think you might have a change of heart. At the very least he's much more than someone who would do magic tricks."

"Well I'll just take your word for that for now," Boober said. Frodo simply smiled at the finality of that statement.

"What is it Gobo?" Wembley, who had been silent for a little bit suddenly put in.

Frodo looked over at the fraggle in question only to find that he was being studied rather intently. The question seemed to pull him out of it. He looked over at Wembley before looking back up to Frodo.

"Oh I was just thinking, you're Uncle Bilbo reminds me a bit of My Uncle Matt."

"Really?"

Frodo remembered Gobo mentioning Uncle Matt earlier and had been slightly intrigued. But the discussion of wizards had kept him from being able to ask many questions yet.

"Sure," Gobo went on to explain. "He goes by Travelling Matt and he's an explorer like I am. He left a while ago to explore the great unknown beyond Fraggle Rock that we call Outer Space…"

_Just like Bilbo_ Frodo thought.

"…He sends me postcards every few days of all the discoveries he makes." At this Frodo's face fell a little. How lucky Gobo was to still hear from his Uncle. He hadn't heard from Bilbo ever since he left for Rivendell that day in September.

"I wish Bilbo would write," he muttered softly to himself. A touch on his shoulder had him looking up to his young cousin who had moved a little closer to lend a small bit of comfort.

"Why do you wish he'd write?" Gobo asked, looking a little confused, "Didn't he come back after his adventure?"

Frodo quickly nodded.

"Oh he did," he reassured the fraggle. "That particular adventure took place even before I was born. He's told me all sorts of stories about his adventures." Frodo's mood improved as he recounted his uncle's tales.

"He's met men, elves, dwarves, and all sorts of other creatures. He's considered a hero amongst some of them and he's travelled to all sorts of places. He's writing it all down in a book he took with him." he added in.

"Really?" Apparently it did. "Uncle Matt left me a book he wrote. It's about all he had explored up until the time he left for Outer Space."

Frodo's smile widened.

"Well, then perhaps we'll have to exchange stories someday Gobo," he suggested.

"Oh, I'd love that," Gobo agreed.

"Me too," Wembley piped up. Frodo wasn't surprised. Pippin was always clamoring about to hear more of Bilbo's stories as well. It made perfect sense that the young fraggle would.

"Uh," I think I'll leave the storytelling to you guys," Boober interjected.

"Anyway," Frodo continued on, unable to stop. "Bilbo left a few years ago for Rivendell, that's one of the places he's been on his adventures." He paused for a moment and sighed. "I don't blame him," he finally said softly. "When you've been everywhere he's been I would imagine it'd be hard to go back to the way things used to be."

"Isn't that what Travelling Matt said?" Wembley asked Gobo, "That time that he came back and we found the Crystal Caverns?"

"Yea," the orange fraggle said with a nod. "He told me he was coming back to stay once," he commented, looking up at the hobbits. "But he was barely back a day before we could both see that he wasn't happy in Fraggle Rock, not after everything he'd seen in Outer Space." Gobo gave a small shrug, "But he comes back to visit every now and then."

"Perhaps Bilbo will someday," Pippin suggested, trying to lighten his cousin's mood. "Or maybe we'll go see him one day."

"Maybe," Frodo replied.

"Well, until then, maybe this will help some." Frodo looked over to Gobo as he spoke. The fraggle was reaching into his shirt. After a moment he pulled a small card from an inner pocket and handed it to Frodo.

"It's a postcard my Uncle Matt sent me the other day," he explained. "They bring me inspiration. Why don't you take it?"

Frodo reached out and took the offered gift, his eyes already skimming the words written on it as he began to speak.

_Dear Nephew Gobo,_

_The other day I realized something about the silly creatures that quite astonished me. Some of them have trouble walking. For the most part I have seen Silly creatures walking around upright and unaided, much like us fraggles. But those who have trouble walking for themselves have found a way that they can still walk. They tie themselves to hairy monsters not unlike the one you and I have seen, and the hairy monsters pull them along. The silly creatures are often so thankful that they shower the hairy monsters with affection at every chance they get. _

_Remember, nephew, never forget to show appreciation to those who help you._

_Will write again soon. Much love,_

_You're Uncle Travelling Matt._

Frodo smiled as he finished reading.

"Your uncle seems like a very insightful fellow," he said to Gobo. Then he glanced over it one more time and added. "Though for the life of me I don't have any idea what he's talking about."

"Well, he does go all over the place," the Gobo answered wisely. "Maybe this is a culture different than you hobbits or something."

Pippin couldn't think of any better explanation. "Sounds likely to me," he commented.

"At any rate, thank you for sharing it with me," Frodo handed the card back to Gobo. What the fraggle did next surprised him a little. He pushed the card back toward the hobbit

"You should keep it," he said firmly. "I know Uncle Matt isn't Bilbo but, it might help when you start to miss him."

Frodo felt a few tears welling in his eyes at the fraggle's generosity.

"Thank you very much most noble Fraggle," was the heartfelt gratitude.

"You're welcome…uh…most noble hobbit," came the stumbling response. Pippin giggled a little at it, as did Wembley.

Then another voice popped in.

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt this moment," Boober said, "But seeing as how Wembley's not hallucinating or sick or crazy, we should get going back. I've got laundry I need to finish or it'll start to get mildew.

Pippin wanted to protest but Wembley beat him to it.

"Aw, c'mon Boober," the young fraggle cajoled. "This is fun isn't it?"

"Well, yes," Frodo could hear the reluctance in the response. "It's been okay, although possibly quite…odd. And I don't mean any disrespect it's just-"

"No, you're right," the older hobbit cut in, not wanting to add any further discomfort to the stuttering fraggle. "We should probably get going anyway, it'll be supper soon. It has been a pleasure meeting all of you."

"You too," Gobo said, "Both of you. It's been wonderful actually being able to talk to a silly creature. I can't wait to tell Uncle Matt about it."

"Bye Pippin," Wembley said with a wave. "I'll be sure to come back again soon."

Pippin didn't say anything. He just waved back as the fraggles headed back into the wall. When everyone was through he made sure that the board that hid the hole was firmly in place. He turned to find Frodo watching him curiously.

"What?" he asked timidly. "I didn't do anything this time."

Frodo grinned,

"No," he answered, "I suppose you didn't."

Pippin smiled at Frodo's understanding, then grew serious.

"Uh Frodo, I ah, I gave Wembley my word that I would keep Fraggle Rock a secret."

Frodo nodded in understanding.

"I understand."

Pippin beamed, "I knew you would. You'll keep it a secret then?"

Frodo nodded as the two cautiously exited the room, mindful of watchful eyes.

"Of course I will," he answered sincerely as the two followed the smell of baking pie all the way to the kitchen.


End file.
